From a Swiss Mountain Village to the North Cape: A Microlino Heads Far
North
One Microlino, one long journey and a destination almost at the
end of Europe: In July, Xaver set off from Illgau in Switzerland and headed
north in his Microlino. A few weeks later, the little electric vehicle was
actually standing at the North Cape.
Probably for the very first time.
What looks on the map like an extreme challenge for a vehicle originally designed for urban everyday life became a journey through Germany, Denmark and Scandinavia – with countless charging stops, encounters and the realisation that range is sometimes less a technical than a mental question.
Just set off
On 18 July 2026, Xaver started his journey in Illgau in the canton of Schwyz. At that point, his Microlino already showed 36,318 kilometres on the odometer.
The destination was more than just a few borders away: the far north of Europe and, if everything worked out, the North Cape.
Instead of covering as many kilometres as possible as quickly as possible, the journey developed at the Microlino’s own pace. Drive, charge, continue. Sometimes at public charging stations, sometimes at hotels, sometimes from a regular household socket and, along the way, with additional energy from a mobile power station.
That was a big part of the adventure. The route had to be planned not only
around roads, but also around available charging opportunities.
Through Germany towards Scandinavia
From Switzerland, the journey first led across Germany. Stops such as Donaueschingen, Pforzheim, Weinheim, Darmstadt, Friedberg, Warburg, Soltau and Schleswig-Holstein were all part of the route north.
From there, Xaver continued through Denmark and into Sweden. Copenhagen, Helsingborg, Jönköping and numerous smaller places became part of a route where the next power socket was sometimes almost as important as the next destination.
Xaver documented the journey in exceptional detail. Charging locations, kilowatt-hours charged, costs and, in some cases, even the average travelling speed were recorded.
What started as a drive north therefore also became an unusual long-distance
test for the Microlino.
The hardest stage happened in the mind
The further north the journey went, the emptier the roads became – and the more important planning was.
At the beginning of August, reaching the North Cape was suddenly no longer a given. The constant question of whether the next charging point would work began to take its toll.
Xaver therefore decided to make the big goal smaller for the moment: first, reach the Arctic Circle.
That may be one of the most beautiful parts of this story. Not every roadtrip has to follow a perfect plan. Sometimes it is enough to aim for the next achievable destination and decide again from there.
A Microlino crosses the Arctic Circle
On 8 August, it was done: Xaver and his Microlino crossed the Arctic Circle together.
At the same time, the Microlino reached another personal milestone: 40,000 kilometres on the odometer.
By then, it was clear that an extraordinary journey had become something truly special.
And the original destination moved within reach again.
Reindeer, endless roads and the far north
The final stages led through a landscape that could hardly be further removed from the everyday life of a Swiss city vehicle: long roads, sparse population, reindeer by the roadside and the vastness of the far north.
Honningsvåg became the final base before the North Cape. From there, only a few kilometres remained to one of Europe’s best-known travel destinations.
And then came the image that sums up the entire journey: a Microlino at the North Cape.
Small against a huge landscape – and thousands of kilometres away from its
starting point in Switzerland.
What this journey says about the Microlino
The Microlino was not developed as a classic long-distance vehicle. Its home is the city: short journeys, little space consumption and mobility that is as efficient as possible.
That is exactly why this story fascinates us.
Xaver’s journey shows that people keep finding ways to use vehicles differently from how we originally imagined.
With patience, good planning and a willingness to embrace a different travel rhythm, an urban electric vehicle became a travel companion all the way to the far north of Europe.
Not particularly fast. Not always easy. But probably unforgettable precisely
because of that.
The destination is reached – the journey continues
The North Cape was a symbolic highlight, but of course not the end of the journey. Because anyone who drives a Microlino all the way north eventually has to head south again.
For us at Microlino, this story is above all one thing: a wonderful example of what happens when our community brings its own ideas to life with the vehicle.
From a Swiss mountain village, across the Arctic Circle, to the North Cape.
Sometimes a Microlino really is bigger than it looks.
Follow the entire journey
Xaver documents his North Cape journey in detail on his own Microlino blog – including daily reports, charging experiences and many personal impressions from the road.